just couldnt stay away
by isisthewolf
Summary: she returns to the bering sea but what will be different this time? when life is full of betrayal and adventure who will be left standing? its all part of the deadliest catch
1. Chapter 1

"Just couldn't stay away"

_A/N: I know that this is different than the teaser that I posted at the end of my last story but you see im an idiot who writes my stuff by hand when I feel like ignoring my teachers so I happened to lose my first 5 chapters and this is all new material with as much as I can remember of the old stuff so please review and let me know how I am doing so far. Thumbs up or thumbs down k. thank you_

_Disclaimer: most of these characters are not my own and I make nothing from this fic so yeah_

"Another surprise visit"

It had been a year since she had worked as a crabber on the Bering Sea and another king crab season had come and gone to see her home in California the whole while. Since leaving her relationship with John Hillstrand had fizzled into nothing but at least his own relationship with his son Scotty had been repaired. That season had earned her the friendship and respect of the toughest men on the earth, included in that was her one time crush Josh Harris and his brother Jake Harris. When they weren't fishing or partying they would visit her and her daughter, Sophia adored them. As Mariah cleaned her living room she heard her four year old yell to her "catch, catch" and she thought that she was about to be pelted with a ball yet again but then she heard the music and knew that an old rerun of her and sophi's favorite show was starting. They had recorded the Christmas marathon and sophi wouldn't let Mariah delete the episodes. Smiling to herself she let her thoughts wander to the good and the bad that she experienced up there in the icy waters of Alaska. The laughs and the pranks and the empty pots, the rejection and the sizzling romance between her and the skipper. "Good times" she whispered to herself. She had quit after her first season because she knew she where she belonged, at home with her daughter who was her world, but she still felt restless every time they watched _Deadliest Catch_ and she saw a rogue wave hit the deck of one of the ships or when she saw a ship his a huge biomass of crab. She had been keeping correspondences with Phil Harris, checking up on his health, and his older son. She couldn't help it Josh was such a charming man with a mischievous smile that could get him out of almost every bind he got himself into. Phil was feeling better and was itching to get back to his baby, the _Cornelia Marie_ even his woman bonnie could see it in his eyes and now he didn't care what the Doctors said he was going back out this Opellio season but one thing that he neglected to mention to her just happened to knock at the door at just that moment, make that two things that he didn't mention. The infamous ding and dong, otherwise known as the Harris brothers.

She jumped as she heard the hard knock of the youngest Harris but when she heard the smooth voice of the older of the two she smiled. "coming" she yelled as she put the broom away "Mommy its Ding and Dong" Sophi yelled peeking out the window and making Mariah laugh. Phil had made sure to impress his nicknames on her and now she rarely called them anything else.

"hey guys, you coulda called" she said as she opened the door and flattened her messed up hair with one hand "come on in"

Josh bent down to give her a hug but jake didn't have to since they were about the same height. They both smiled at her in their mischievous Harris fashion and that made her laugh. "you guys want anything to drink?" she asked jake shook his head but josh nodded "sure, coke?" he asked. Mariah nodded and walked toward her small kitchen not knowing josh was following her until she heard sophi yell and jump up onto him "josh I missed you" Mariah just laughed and kept walking. "how have you guys been I havnt heard from you in a while" she yelled as she poured josh's drink "ah we have been fine just living it up until opelio season when we have to get back to work" jake yelled back, smiling over at his brother encouraging him with his eyes.

Since their kiss last year, and josh's harsh rejection of her his feelings for had grown past friendship and he was ready for more he just didn't know how to tell her. That was what this trip was about, his attempt to win the woman that he once spurned. His life of partying was starting to get old and he wanted more. As the second oldest son of Phil he was in line to one day inherit the ship but with him being the newest member of the crew his brother Jake was ahead of him. A lot had crossed his mind and felt that he was ready to settle down and he adored little sophi and her wild nature, she was a lot like her mom and ironically a lot like him as well headstrong and quick-witted, knowing how to charm whoever she wanted. Jake had come along to help him, he was sophia's favorite so he was going to cook dinner with her help so that josh could talk to Mariah alone. He hoped that she would still want to be with him, he was almost sure that she did.

Mariah returned with his drink and a bowl of chips for them all. Noticing the looks that josh gave her but dismissing it as his usual flirtatious behavior that never turned off. She sat down on her rocker and picked her daughter up, "come her honey give them a little space" she laughed knowing that the brothers never minded her energetic little girl. The boys laughed as sophi grabbed the remote and pressed play on the tv, Mike Rowe's voice blaring "_on the vast Bering Sea…" _the introduction to their show "you still watch this" jake laughed "yeah its our favorite show" Mariah replied with a smile. "oh Mariah I forgot when we said that we were coming down here keith colburn gave me a letter for you its out in the car want to come with me to get it?" Sophia lit up but Mariah put her down, "stay here baby girl ok" she said as she followed josh out. "are you ok josh you seem a bit uptight" she looked concerned and he reached out his hand to hold hers. They were close friends so close that they often held hands and when unwanted guys would hit on her he would even pretend to be her boyfriend, almost getting into a few fights until the other guy saw all of the fight hardened fishermen who backed him up. "yeah Im fine I just wanted to talk to you a bit" he said as he handed her the sealed letter. "what is it about" she asked "I don't know they didn't say" she ripped it open and scanned it getting a thoughtful look on her face that slowly turned to one of worry "what is it?" now it was his turn to be concerned. She just shook her head and turned for the house "I have to make a call, do you mind watching sophi for a second while I do." She didn't wait for his response just walked right in to go to the phone.

_A/N: ok let me know what you think ill get the next chapter up as soon as possible_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: so yeah it has beeen a longggg time since i uploaded and im trying to find my manuscript, i have the whole story already written and now that school is out i have more time to upload if my daughter will allow it lol_

_ Disclaimer: most of these characters are not my own and I make nothing from this fic so yeah_

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"chapter 2: a couple weeks earlier"

"hey mouse, come in here a sec" Captain Keith Colburn yelled to his brother. Monty had been fixing himself a quick lunch in the kitchen and the brothers had been pouring over resumes again because Keith needed help choosing yet another greenhorn since Lynn guitard had decided to duck out for this years opie run. Keith rubbed his pounding head "i have no one mouse, former criminals..."he threw a handful of papers down "fresh out of high school dweebs..."he threw some more down "and discovery boys who's letters don't sound very impressive." he threw another stack down. after the fame of the show people started trying to hire on that the captains not so lovingly called "discovery boys" in other words they were little boys that thought that they could prove their manhood and get on international television in one stroke. "were there any good ones in your stack?" Keith looked desperately at his younger brother. Monty just shook his head. "you hit the nail on the head bro, dweebs, criminals, and jerks." he stood in the doorway of Keith's home office and took a bite of his sandwich. "who is in town that you could phone to see if they have any ideas?" he asked through a mouthful of food. Keith shook his head slowly from side to side thinking "sig is still on vacation with his family but i think that Harris is home and he night have mentioned that the Hillstrands are coming to town soon." after thinking in his head for a second then spoke again "yeah i will give Phil a call." Monty shrugged and took another bite

--

"yo this is Jake Harris, talk to me" Jake answered his dads wall phone as he licked the froth off of his soda can. "oh hi Keith, how can i--no dads not home yet, hes out having a drink with john hillstrand of you want to catch him on his cell." he heard Keith nod on his side of the phone "OK, the Hillstrands are here, that's good. ok thanks that is all i needed to know, bye kid" Keith hung up quickly leaving Jake staring at the phone for a moment before he too hung up.

--

"hey mouse, the hillstrands are in town already, remind me to call john later" monty's voice came from the kitchen again, obscured by the ham and cheese that filled his mouth but after fourty some odd years keith knew very well how to speak the almost incomprehensible gibberish that always came from his little brother so hea clearly head his say "yeah, i will."

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"chapter 3: home is where the heart is"

Mariah walked out of the room with a big smile on her face, looking proud this concerned josh even more, it was the look a girl got after being called back by a man she had a great date with. "whats up?" he asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice. "i just got a new job" she jumped up and down then ran to give him a hug "you Harris boys will be seeing alot more of me this winter" she grinned and sophi clapped her hands excited. jake and josh laughed to and smiled at the thought, jake giving josh a sly wink. "so i feel rude i havnt asked you how you boys have been" they laughed again and said in unison "yeah you did" making her blush "look at that josh still in sunny california but she already had a case of bering sea dementia" jake said and josh slapped his little brother's arm playfully. when her blush faded she scooted closer to the boys ."so i talked to your dad and he didn't mention that you two were coming down..." she raised her eyebrows instead of finishing her sentence. "yeah that's because we asked him not to mention it" jake said smugly. "anything else hes not telling me?" she asked smiling. josh was the one to answer this time "yeah he probably didn't mention that he is going out for opies again, with the doctors blessing or against the doctors orders, either way" mariah jumped and put her hand over her mouth, startling sophi who had just fallen asleep on her moms lap "is he really ready to go back out again, so soon and at the worst time of the year." josh's own smile faltered and he looked down at the sudden emotion that thinking of his father's health brought to him "i don't know, i don't want my old man out there this early neither does Bonnie but he is just so damned stubborn" josh shook his head, clearly frustrated and mariah reached out her hand to comfort him. josh's strain eased and he smiled again as he looked at her. "hey, mariah, do you remember last august when..." he started to say when sophi suddenly jumped up "jakey jakey lets play" she cheered loudly and hopped off ehr mother's lap to grab his hand and start tugging on him. "aw c'mon jakey play" she pouted when he didnt move immediately. "oh alright" he conceded and allowed the little girl to pull him up to his feet. her cheerful voice could be heard all the way from outside when she had finally succeeded in dragging the young crabber out. "there goes the frieght train and the tugg boat" mariah smiled at the mental image her words created and lay her head on josh's shoulder. "what were you saying josh?" she remembered that he had said something but had been interupted by her little rugrat. "me, oh, nothing" he replied, the moment had passed for him and he was happy just to have her head resting on his shoulder, the smell of head and shoulders shampoo floating up to his nose.

"hey look there you are" he said as the show returned from its commercial break. the image on the screen was that of mariah baiting her first pot on board the _Time Bandit_. andy was giving her pointers on how to bait fast and get out of the pot so that it can clear the rail faster and then his showing her yet again how to not lose any fingers in the bait chopper. mariah laughed watching herself struggle on the television. "damn i make getting crabs look good" she joked and josh laughed "my god that sounded wrong" he said and they both laughed more. "yeah i meant it to" she nodded "uggh and all of america will see how bad i fail on deck" she buried her face in josh's chest, pretending to hide. "no not all of america, its actually the whole world, we are international now if that makes you feel any better" she groaned again in response and buried her head deeper into his scent.

Jake walked in and plopped down "that kid has wayyyy too much energy, what do you feed her monster and redbull?" he sighed and closed his eyes "who's ordering the pizza" jake said with his eyes still closed and mariah laughed "i will, i have them on speed dial" "my kind of woman right there" jake said opening his eyes and sitting up straighter and peeking at josh for his older brothers reaction. josh gave jake punch to the shoulder and sat still again as if he had done nothing. "mariah josh hit me" jake whined playfully making her stick her tongue out just as little ceasers answered her call. after she got off the phone she stood in front of the boys "your all grown up and still tattling on each other, come on now" she laughed and sat between them. "jakey, jakey" sophi whined, calling her play friend back out side.

--

over pizza and soda mariah had noticed josh looking at her a lot and she smiled. she still got the butterflies from him sometimes even though she had passed it off as something that would eventually go away. "you ok josh?" she finally asked him, the fifth time she had caught him staring. "yeah im fine, why?" he snapped out of his trance. she figured that maybe he was just thinking about his dad again and not staring at her. maybe he was staring at nothing and she just happened to be sitting in his nothing. sophi hand been so tuckered out from playing with jake that she had fallen asleep in her chair with a piece of pizza still in her hand. mariah smiled at her young off spring when she noticed this. "i will be back once she is asleep in her bed" mariah said as she got up and bent over to pick up her little girl. it didnt take long, mariah had figured that while she was getting sophi ready for bed that she would have woken up like usual but she didn't, instead she had begun to snore softly making her mom smile more as she shut off the light and shut the door to return to her guests who were huddled together talking. "hey im back" she said and they broke apart. before she could ask what was up jake asked her "so do you miss Alaska?" she sat and smiled "yeah of course i do, it is so ordinary here, nothing ever happens. im surrounded by tall buildings and i hate it, whereas in Alaska there is so much beauty." Jake grinned and spoke up "if you get cold up there we can always huddle together for warmth" raising his eyebrows suggestively and making her blush again. "ah, a fate worse than death comes in that case."

josh got up and started sifting through her DVD collection, bypassing the Sesame street and the Disney, laughing when he got to the _Dirty jobs_ and _Deadliest Catch_ collections. "what" she said standing behind him trying to see what he was laughing about. he realized how close she had gotten and almost lost his train of thought as he got lost in her scent. "nothing, you must just really like the show" finally he came across the one that he had been looking for, every girl had her own copy of it. "hey lets watch this, i have never seen it before" mariah rolled her eyes at the copy of _The Notebook_, stalling as she tried to figure out where he was going with this when she looked over to Jake and his pleading face, begging them silently to put it back and forget it. "sure" she said and smiled wolfishly.

--

while the boys watched the previews she made popcorn, letting her mind wander and almost burning it. she didnt hear him walk up and she didnt feel his eyes mover over her body, lingering on her ass, so naturally she jumped when he spoke just inches from her ear. "ready when you are" he smiled sheepishly "sorry" as he bent to help her pick up the spilled popcorn. she looked up at him through her hair and the closeness of thir faces reminded her of that kiss they had once shared, her sudden temptation to take him by surprose and try again was quelled immediately by the memory of the last harsh rejection and she hoped that the warmth in her cheeks did not betray her secret thoughts. he did sense the feelings though, because they were mirrored in himself, he too remembered that kiss ans the way that he had turned her down. he wanted to take it all back, his rejection and all that had passed since. she looked down to shield her thoughts from him and continued to pick up the mess when she heard a giggle from the other side of the kitchen. unknowingly her daughter had just provided mommy the perfect escape from this uncomfortable situation. "sophi you are supposed to be in bed, what are you doing up?" she asked, rushing past her friend and picking her daughter up, "say good night to the boys and we are heading back to bed." sophi looked down, sad at not being allowed to stay up and join them. "night, night jakey, night night joshie." she pouted from her spot on her mother's hip and her head resting on her mom's shoulder. "night munchkin" the boys chorused.

--

"josh are you serious? i dont want to watch that crap" jake whined to his older brother about the movie "c'mon jake you promised you would help me get her" josh countered then threw a pillow at his brother when the heard the bedroom door shut. "what are you two bickering about now?"

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"chapter 4:"

the boys ended up crashing in the living room, well jake had at least while josh and mariah sat in the backyard and talked. they spent hours after the movie just catching up and shooting the bull. alot had been going through her mind since deciding to take the colburns up on their offer so here she was packing up her clothes and her daughters things. "your going to stay with your grandparents again baby girl, we have to hurry up." sophia just sat and pouted not knowing what was going on because mariah had decided to keep it a secret from her until now. "why are we packing, are we moving again?" the little girls tears wer showing in her eyes at the prospect of having to move yet another time. mariah looked upi from the duffel bags and saw this and frowned, she hadnt thought that sophi would cry. "baby, no we arnt moving, mommy is just going to alaska again, this time for snow crab" she picked her daughter up and sat her on her lap "really mommy?" a tear fell but her face brightened up. "yes i was going to surprise you because jake and josh are goint too so they will be at grandma's, that is why wer have to hurry up." sophi jumped up and grabbed her teddy bear and her jacket. "ok mommy im ready" mariah laughed as she finished up.

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"grandma" sophia yelled when she was finally released from her booster seat, jumping into her grandma's arms "im staying with you while mommy goes to alaska again." she beamed, her little orbs showing how proud she was of her mom. "i know mija, your mommy asked me yesterday" she smiled and kissed her granddaughter's forehead. jsut then jake and josh came out, josh nearly running in his excitment to see mariah again. "looks like was have a new drinking buddy jake" josh beamed.

_A/N: sorry that this took so long, harldy worth the wait please read and review, sorry it is so fast pased im still trying to find all of my notes_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: so yeah i still dont own anything or anyone but as soon as i own myself a hot crabber i will be more than bragging, you will have to work to shut me up_

"chapter 5"

"hey mouse our horn just got here, do you mind helping her get setteled in?" keith yelled from the wheelhouse window where he was making last minute adjustments and eating a cup-o-soup. even though he had cesed to chew tobacco and didnt need the empty cup as a spitoon he didnt seem to be able to cut the cup-o-noodle habit as well. after washing his hands monty stepped off the ship and headed up the dock to retrieve the new wizard greenhorn from joshes truck as she was getting out. "hey josh, she here in one piece?" monty joked and josh answered back "yeah she is, i had forgotten that you have seen my driving before." josh and monty high fived a greeting to eachother until they heard mariah cuss loudly. "what happened?" josh walked up to her and asked, he was glad to be here for her. "my fucking strap broke to my duffel" she said and sighed. "and i see she wont be blushing much while out with a ship of men" monty laughed as josh helped her take the ruined bag by its side straps seeing as the shoulder strap was now ripped off. "i got it" she snapped as if to take his hand off with her bite, clearly frusterated already. she looked up and saw that monty was watching her and laughing. "hey there kiddo, its nice of you to join us. wanna give me something to carry so my brother wont chew my ass out for leaving a lady to carry it all herself?" the deck boss stood waiting when she decided to spit on the ground. "one rule, while i work with a bunch of men im not a lady, got it? i work just as hard if not harder then any man so i dont want or need special treatment. i already proved myself as a bandit and i will prove myself as a damn good wizard." she staired him down, daring him to contradict her when he shrugged and turned away. "johnny boy gave us a good one". josh smiled as he looked at her and he grabbed her arm before she could walk away, whispering in her ear. " be safe your daughter needs you back in one piece. " then he let her go.. mariah smiled and followed her newest mentor as josh watched her walk away, knowing he would see her later at one of the local bars."

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"you sure you know what your in for up here?" mariah jumped, hitting her head on the top bunk when Keith spoke. rubbing her head she turned around. "i even brought my own gear this time, no duct taped rain slickers needed." she smiled but keith was not laughing. "its no joke out here, this is the hardest season out here, watch yourself. monty did say you sound tough lets see if you can prove us right in hiring you." without saying another word he left her to finish unpacking, she had to e up on deck to help set in a few minutes. it would be weeks before they all left but keith liked to get ready early. boots and slicker on she headed up on deck. "Gary what do you want me to do first" she yelled to the first mate. "go ask monty" he growled as his only response, he was usually friendly but wasnt sure of the merit to testing superstition with a woman on board. but she did as she was told and asked monty. "can you chain pots?" monty asked her and she nodded. "well then get secured and climb on up there, saftey first" he patted her on the arm.

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"chapter 6"

her fear of heights had abandoned her long ago but here on top side of the stack of crab pots, each weighing around one ton, with the wind whipping around wildly and threatening to pluck her up. she couldnt help but feel a nerous hum within her bones. the ship rocked as a wave slapped her side and mariah's breath caught and she braced herself. "quit playing around up there and finish up, the captain wants to talk to you beforewe head to supper." lynn yelled up to her and john moody who was filming her work atop the stack. she had only met this young deckhand (still almost a decade her senior) once on her first trip up here. snapping back to her duties she leashed the las of the pots and began her decent to the deck, losing her footing as the ship took another slap to the hull. she fell to deck with a wildly beating heart. a hard landing was she she expected but what did happen was unexpected, being nearby and thinking in a split second monty was there and he caught her. looking upon her rescuer she smiled embarassedly "uhh thanks monty" she blushedm glad that the chill wind had reddened her cheeks to sufficiently hide it. he set her on her feet and looked up to see David Farkas, the alternate _Wizard_ cameraman. "you wont show that right?" he asked and Farkas answered back "its up to discovery" "mouse quit fooling around down there and send the horn up" jeith yelled out of the wheel house window. "you better be on your way he has quite a temper" monty smiled and slapped her on the shoulder before returning to his mending of a pot.

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"is that you mariah?" the captian hollared down as he heard her on the wheelhouse stairs "yes, captain" she called up as she emerged carrying a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for him. "here you go keith." she placed the plate and glass near him. "oh an offering from the greenhorn i hope it is not a bribe," he smiled "fresh baked?" he asked and it was her turn to smile "no they are chips ahoy but i milked the cow myself" they both laughed as keith took a cookie. after taking some milk hespoke again "john recomended you, he really thinks the world of you. i know you will ok well here and since you already know the dangers of being out on deck i will not go over it with you." he paused for another sip of milk and continued "are you comfortable in the shared stateroom or do you want to be in your own room, we have an extra one but its small in case we havea guest on board" she didnt mind the room she was in now,on the _Bandit_ she had been in a shared stateroom so she was used to it and her roommate seemed decent enough to wait outside while she got dressed. "no thanks, im fine" she shrugged "ok then off with you, go get dressed for supper we are going up to the elbow room" she got up and left without another word from either of them only to see monty on deck still. "hey horn, i figured i would wait around to see if you were still alive, do you mind walking me to the bar?" he asked as if joking and she shrugged then started to alk. monty shook his head and followed.


	4. Chapter 4 caught

_A/N: per usual i own diddly squat, i make even less so go right ahead and sue me, youll gain a lazy ass dog and a bitchy ferret id gain an hour of my life back not picking up their shit every day so have fun, neither fetches the paper._

_A/N: my language will probably be getting progressively worse as the story goes on ,sorry kiddies if your reading but cest la vie_

"chapter 7: caught"

"hey boys look what the cat dragged in" was the first thing she heard from across the bar as she entered. "well hell if id have known i would be greeted so rudely i would have stayed with the ship johnny boy" she shot back smiling at her ex and his crew before running over to collect hugs "hell dont yall shower you smell like a bunch of sweaty men and you havnt even been off to sea yet" she scrunched up her nose at them. the boys laughed and john tweaked her nose "well we dont have our own maid anymore darling" he said with a sideways grin. "whats this i hear about a maid" keith yelled from the wizard table, already surrounded in smoke, he himself was not smoking or chewing after his ordeal a bit back. "keep your mouth shut hillstrand i was never no maid and you know that, our costumes were supposed to stay private" she winked at him before walking away to join her crew not noticing the icy glaires from Scotty and josh. jakers did though.

"whats up your asses" jake Harris leaned between the older boys "none of your damned business little brother" josh growled at him, scotty stayed silent, glad that she was away from his dad.

"you didnt say there were costumes involved" crosby scooted over to let her in and she blushed "and i wont say anymore about it so dont ask or youll have a black eye" she playfully hit him in the arm. crosby just rubbed his arm and laughed while soper scowled over at her. "so whos buying the first round boys?" she asked the silent table, sure that they had been laughing and joking before she had sit down but not letting her own self consciousness get in the way of things. Unanimously they all pointed to her "looks like its you horn" keith smiled as he said "yeah sure i see how yall are now" she teased and got up heading over to the bar to order a round

"you guys dont have to be so rude to her" monty berated the crew. "shes got no place here monty, you and your brother know i love you like family and as my captain and deck boss i will follow your word but a woman has no place on a boat you guys know that as well as anyone, the only place a woman belongs on a boat is naked on the bow other than that they are plain bad luck" soper nearly spat and keith furrowed his brow "soper your not like most guys and i have known you for years so ill tell you once, cut this shit out and treat her like one of the guys, she wont pussy out on us and shes tough, hellofa lot tougher than the grown and near grown men that applied for the spot and were going to have a kick ass season, try her out and lets see where this goes you got that? that goes for all you boys." the men around the table grumbled, all except for monty and crosby. "sure i dont mind giving her a chance at all." he said raising his eyebrows and monty shot him a glair "what, i didnt mean in a bad way but you do have to admit, shes fucking hot man, id sure like to-" travis cut him off with an elbow to the ribs as mariah walked up to the table again, she looked around and some hair fell from under her cowboy hat "whos fuckin hot?" she asked "that girl over there" crosby pointed to a waitress across the bar and mariah sat, shrugging her shoulders "sure i guess, if you like blond skanks, i give her a 6 now her over there" she pointed to another waitress nearer to them "shes at least a 9" the boys laughed and looked at her oddly making her shrug again "what can i say i swing both ways" with that being admitted so openly all the boys' jaws fell open "you sure i cant ask more about those costumes?" crosby asked still rubbing his ribs and she punched him lightly in the arm again "yeah im sure you cant" "cant what?" john had walked over and only caught the tail of the conversation "you just had to open your damned big mouth about our fun last time i was up here didnt you, you rat johnny" she teased, her arms crossed on the table "well i have to have a big mouth to take a bite out of that ass" she gasped and stepped on his foot hard making him jump "what the fuck was that for?" he asked loudly, making the whole time bandit sit upright alert for any sign of a fight "dont be saying shit like that around people you asshole" she stood up challenging him and scotty stood up too where he was still sitting next to josh who put a hand on his arm

"take a seat if her and your dad get into it im sure he can handle her on his own and wont need your help" scotty ripped his arm away and sneared down at josh "of course your gonna take her side, your in love with her and we all know it shes the only one stupid enough not to notice. my advice josh, if this gets big stay out of it, dont run to her rescue that will only make enemies for you" scotty walked away and stood next to his uncle andy

"I think im going to head back to the ship keith, the round will be here soon, its already payed for" she looked at her captain for permission to leave and nodded her thanks when he seemed to give ther permission. "want me to walk you back?" monty asked nearly jumping out of his seat but sitting back down when she shook her head. "thanks monty but its fine I can walk on my own" she turned and shrugged back into her jacket before pushing through the door. John stood there by the wizard table "I didn't think she would get that pissed, its cute to see her blush and get a little upset but honestly I didn't think that she would get that pissed" he looked sheepishly at the wiz crew as josh walked up behind him. "of course she would she on a ship with all men and some cameras when she is a self concious girl to begin with, she noticed that you were all talking about her but she wont say anything, john you know her almost as well as I do, you had to know that she would act like that." Josh shook his head and john looked down, scratching the back of one leg with the toe of his other cowboy boot. "I didn't think she would, shes a tough girl. Josh really I am sorry I was just messin with her" john turned and walked back to the TB table while josh stayed with the wizards a moment longer. "you think that I can go after her, I doubt shes going back to the ship like she said" monty looked worried and keith saw that "yeah go ahead, take care of her kid ok" josh nodded and grabed his jacket from the CM table before leaving without saying anything else, no one say Scotty shaking his head as josh let the door slam shut behind him.

It took a few minuets to find her, he had checked the wizard first just in case but didn't find her there, he thought about checking the TB but thought better of it figuring that after the way that john had embarassed and upset her she wouldn't go there only to face the cameras. Knowing her aversion to cold he decided that maybe checking the CM would work

"I was wondering if I would find you here?" he said as he walked up behind her mariah smiled but didn't turn around. "arnt they beautiful josh" she said refering to the bald eagles flying and the otters playing, josh nodded and wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her. "they are, the beauty of alaska is amazing" she nodded her head and relaxed against his chest "this is why I came up here, it's the perfect escape from california" josh laughed "and this whole time I thought you was me on the show and came up here to stalk me" mariah laughed too "you would think that josh" josh smiled and nuzzeled in close to her neck, smelling her scent "your skin is cold" mariah laughed again "of course it is were in alaska dork" jose ignored her comment and took her hand "how about some coffee?" he asked as he lead her to the galley "sure, hey josh" she said waving with her free hand to josh silberman, one of the camera men for the cornelia marie. "hey girlie what beings you two here tonight" silberman said as he tried to reach for the camera, josh shot him a glair "no mouse" he snapped and silberman took a step away from his camera, making mariah laugh as she sat down at the table. "how have you been josh" she asked trying to cut the silence "cant complain, hey you know what josh I think ill head up to the elbow room now, I finished setting up the cams so im done, you kida have fun" silberman said as he grabbed his jacket and walked out, making both mariah and josh laugh. "its funny how even after all this time people still think we are about to jump on each other and fuck" mariah said smiling, josh laughed but didn't turn around how could he tell her how he feels about her after she had just made it clear that she dosnt feel attracted to him anymore. "heres your coffee" he said as he set a mug down in form t of her and took a seat across from her. "john really got under your skin tonight didn't he" he asked making mariah roll her eyes. "yeah he sure knows how, I cant believe he would say things like that in front of the crew, they don't like me as it is and now they have _that_ in their heads" Mariah shook her head before taking a sip of her coffee, "fuck" she yelled as she burned her tongue "careful its hot" josh said as he got up to get her a piece of ice, "here take this" he handed it to her "tankx" she said as she took the ice making josh laugh yet again "nice lisp" "thut up" she punched him in the arm and he rubbed it, she laughed as she stuck her tongue out and put the ice on it. Josh smiled seeing her look so silly and couldn't help himself, he moved next to her and brushed some hair out of her eyes "what are you doing josh?" he didn't answer her, instead he moved the hand holding the ice and kissed her, he had to find out if she felt like he did. She kissed him back, they wrapped their arms around each other and started making out, Mariah ignored the pain in her tongue as she finally got what she had been wanting for so long. His hand slid up the back of her shirt and he was about to unhook her bra , he pulled away and looked her in the eyes "Mariah I gotta tell you–" as silberman walked back in making them jump and Mariah drop the piece of ice down josh's pants "oh fuck that's cold" josh jumped up and said as he dug in his pants for the offending ice cube. "oh look at that, I left my camera running, damn im sorry about that" josh found the ice and tossed it in the sink "what do you mean you left your camera on mouse" Mariah looked at the two joshed horror struck, she just knew that this would find some way to be mentioned in april. "I better go" Mariah said as she rushed out, shoving past silberman and past the returning crew. "what was that about?" jake asked josh when he and the crew got in. "why do you ask Hollywood here, im sure he will love to tell you, or maybe you can see what happened on TV in april, am I right mouse, anything for a some good footage" josh took a couple steps toward silberman, pushing his chest out and getting into silberman's face. Silberman took a step back, bumping into Phil "I think you should go have a talk with the other camera guys and see who is willing to switch ships with you" phil said looking down at the small camera man.

"what happened" jake asked again as silberman went to pack his things. "I almost got the girl that I pushed away last time she was up here" josh shook his head and walked into his and jakes stateroom, closing the door and undressing before climbing into bed. "I guess I should probably shut this off" jake said crossing to where the camera was still rolling and pushed the button.

* * *

Mariah got to the wizard before any of the men but she didn't feel like doing anything so she just showered and climbed into bed, taking the top bunk.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: "enter witty disclaimer here stating how i dont own crap nor will i make anything off of this"  
_

"chapter 8:"

Being the only one, other than keith, without a hangover she rose fairly early and got the galley in an order she liked, tossing out rotted food and food near the expiration date by the time monty walked out in his boxers rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "what are you doing horn?" he asked groggily, she hadnt been expecting anyone to wake for at least another hour and she jumped "im just tidying up before getting a shopping list together, let me put on a pot of coffee for you in one sec" she said, tossing yet another half empty, expired carton of food "I was saving that" monty protested as he poured water into the coffee maker himself, making her turn toward him "in case you needed the mold for penicillin? Or what as the secret ingredient to the poison you plan on killing me with?" she laughed and looked back into the fridge "yall are gonna have to fend for yourselves this morning there is nothin at all for me to make you guys till I run to the store." As she shut the fridge door monty accidently bumped into her, momentarily pressing her against the sink before blushing and backing away "sorry about that horn" she just shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets "were on a ship monty I have a feeling were in for plenty of bumpin' into each other, its no big deal" she turned back to the sink she had just been pressed against and started to wash the boys late night/early morning dishes and cups, hoping they hadnt eaten anything expired while drunk the night before. "do you need a ride to the store?" monty offered as he sat waiting for her coffee to finish "yeah that would be cool, thanks" monty shrugged his shoulders "its no big deal" he said and looked at her, she laughed again and smiled "by the way, I know you have probably heared my brother calling me mouse, you can too if you want instead of monty" mariah continued to smile as she thought about it "you know the cornelia call one of their camera men mouse" she said thinking back to last night's kiss and how the moment had been stolen away by silberman and his stupid camera "yeah I had heard that, seems like its for about the same reasons as I got mine" he got up when the coffee timer went off but she waved for him to sit and turned to get it herself, grabbing two mugs and pouring the rich drink into them "you take any sugar or milk?" she asked "yeah two sugar and no milk" he replied "thanks horn" he said as she sat his mug in front of him "so how did you earn the name mouse, you're a pretty big guy, at least compared to me but that aint much of an accomplishment" she smiled and sipped her coffee, re-burning her tongue and cussing under her breath. Monty got up and grabbed a piece of ice, he handed it to her before sitting back down "here you go. Well I was kind of a quiet shy kid that's mostly why, that and what big brother dosnt like to give his little brother annoying nick names to make him feel even little-er" monty smiled thinking back to the days when they were kids, mariah here hadnt even been thought of, her parents probably weren't even born or maybe they were in diapers themselves. "god its like déjà vu I swear" she said rolling her eyes "no not about your nickname" she laughed "I burned my tongue last night when josh and I were talking, I guess its going to take more than a night for my tongue to heal" monty nodded and sipped his own drink "what were you doing with josh on the wizard?" he asked, the first image that came to his mind was josh and mariah going at in on her top bunk, the second image was them going at it on his own bunk but that image quickly turned to an image of he and she instead of josh and she before he knew it he was quite thankful that they were sitting at a table and how turned on he was wasn't showing. Mariah shook her head "I didn't come straight back here, I walked along the sohore for a moment before heading to the cornelia marie to wait for josh to get back, hes such a good friend always protecting me, even when I don't want or need the protection so I wanted to talk to him" monty nodded, understanding but for some reason feeling a prickle of jealousy.

"moning mouse, morning horn" keith said as he entered the galley, mariah jumped up as he turned toward the coffee maker "sit, ill get it" she told him and he shrugged, taking her seat across from his little brother. "sure, thanks horn" mariah didn't mind being called horn or greenhorn she knew it was just because she still had to prove herself and that keith and monty were just messing with her, she knew that it was maybe not the same with the other guys but she didn't care, if they didn't like her so what she had dealt with worse "here you go captain," she said as she set the mug in front of him then pointed to the huge glad bag full of refuse "I need to head up to Alaska Ship Supply to get some groceries do you or anyone else need anything?" she asked as she crossed the galley and started to tie the bag closed. "not that I know of, monty you going with her?" he asked his little brother who just nodded and wiped the last of his coffee off of his chin. "ok ill call you on mouse's phone if anyone needs anything, which one you heading too the one on Ballyhoo road or Salmon way?" mariah shrugged "is there one that you prefer?" keith laughed "na, there isnt the one on Salmon way is new just opened up in 09 so you can try that one if you want to have a look around but either way its up to you," keith stood up "im up to the wheel house to go over paperwork, thanks for the joe, be safe kids" he patted his brother on the shoulder and tousled mariahs hair as he passed them on his way to the wheelhouse "oh yeah you know you can call ahead with a list and they will have it ready to be picked up if you want, or you can go to do it yourself if you rather, its no big deal we can spare you two for an hour or two, mouse go get my card" he called down just as he sat in his chair. "ill be right back k" mouse got up and said to mariah before walking into his brothers stateroom. "arnt you going to get dressed?" she called after him "I might, it looks cold out, do you think we would get a discount if I don't though?" he laughed and walked into his their stateroom after retrieving the card. Mariah laughed as well and poured coffee into travel mugs for them. "no I think they may just sue us for undue mental anguish if you don't put on some pants and a shirt" she called back to him, keith was heard laughing loudly and slamming his hand against the arm of the captain's chair. "that's a girl, teach old mouse his place" he called down. "there hows that?" monty asked as he came out wearing jeans and a wizard tee shirt. Mariah glanced up and nodded "yeah, heres our coffee, im going to get dressed really quick and then we can get going." Keith was heard laughing again "you better not im sure seeing you in your pj's would surly get us a discount" he called down from the wheelhouse. Mariah blushed and pulled at the hem of her cami top, bringing it lower to cover her stomach more, blushing deeper when it showed more of her breasts "umm ill be right back" she turned and quickly dashed to their stateroom, crashing into crosby, her breasts falling out of her top. "oh well good morning to you too" he laughed and turned to move out of her way. Her cheeks were now a bright red as she hurriedly pulled her top up "shit, im so sorry crosby." She looked up to make sure that she wasn't about to bump into another crewmate and dashed into the room, slamming the door shut behind her. "its no big deal" he yelled after her as she searched for a coffee mug, he chuckled to himself and monty found himself again having a moment of jealousy. It passed quickly and he shook his head to clear the memory of it. "ok im ready" she said, she had composed herself and had put on her boots, jeans, her time bandit tank top and her favorite black hat. Crosby looked up from his mug as she came in. "no, no, no, no you cant wear that on here that's bad luck" monty jumped up from where he had _just_ sat. "hes right" the three of them knocked on wood at the same time and she returned to mater's red sweater. Tank top in hand she went back out to the galley "im sorry I didn't even think, im going to have to get rid of this one right now. I should have known not to bring it on the ship" monty stared at her for a moment before chuckling "you ready yet horn, I should have known a woman would take so long to get dressed even on a crab boat." "yeah, mind if we make a stop on out way to the supply shop?"

* * *

Monty gave a mad dog look as they pulled up "what you want to do here" he asked her as she unbuckled her seatbelt "im getting rid of the tank top so I don't have it with me when im on the _Wizard" _she said and hopped out of the truck "permission to come aboard?" she called out hoping that the crew hadnt left for breakfast yet "permission denied" she heard a young voice call, quickly overridden by an older voice, just as handsome "ignore my son, permission granted" john called to her, scotty shook his head and walked into the sauna to get away from her. "what beings you here, after last night I thought that you would never talk to me again" john shoved his hands in his pockets "I wasn't plannin on it" she replied before tossing him the tank top "whats this?" he asked as he unfolded it and held it up "I need you to hang on to it for me please, It didn't occur to me that I I shouldn't being it aboard the Wiz and the last thing I want is to bring bad luck on the ship so I need you to hold on to it till the season is out and then ill be taking it back" he laughed and slung it over his shoulder. "yeah sure, gee this thing looks a bit old how long you had it?" "a couple of years, since I was, shoot, like 17. Luckily I left the other one at home, this has always been my work shirt." "what are you wearing under that" he nodded his head toward her sweater making her grin. "I got to get back to monty so we can go get groceries, c'ya john" she quickly climbed down off the ship and hopped back into the cab of monty's truck. "you ready?"


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: im soo through with disclaimers btw so whatever this is my last one

Chap 9:

The trip to alaska ship supply had been fun for them both, they joked and found themselves smiling a lot. Time had flown and monty saw just that when he looked at his watch "oh wow it's a good thing we are standing in line, we better get back to the _wiz _fast" mariah took out her cellphone and looked at the time too "oh yeah, wow, time flies when your having fun" she smiled and monty started laughing, his eyes smiling "whats that you didn't believe me?" he said jesturing to her pocket that help her phone. She shook her head and took his arm "I cant read watches, I need a digital one but that's why I love my phone, it may be useless out here but it works as a paperweight and a time teller, its not like ill need either out on deck so im good in that department" she smiled and turned back to the line, rolling her eyes "this looks like it will take a while, arnt there any costcos up here?" monty laughed again "na, we all use alaska ship supply, they are the best" she had been standing with one foot propped up on the shopping cart when it moved a slight and she almost fell, she would have if it hadnt been for monty's arms snaking around her waist "thanks" she said looking up at him from her spot somewhere between his chest and belly "you always going to come to my rescue" she joked. He just smiled and set her back on her feet. When she looked forward again her smile faltered thinking that maybe he was having second thoughts about getting his brother to hire the out of practice female greenhorn. Finally it was their turn to put their things on the belt that lead to the scanner and she did it while letting monty squeez behind her to get to the register, as he pressed close she swore she felt something but quickly put it out of her mind _maybe he has a pocket knife or something whatever its not my business_ and she quickly put it out of her mind.

"that was fun" she piped as she climbed into the passenger seat of monty's truck, he nodded his head but didn't say anything as they drove, his face was clear and unreadable so she thought it was best to just keep quiet and look out her window but she couldn't think of what she had don't to upset him, she hadnt said or done anything wrong she was pretty sure. He didn't speak until they were about to pull up to the _Wiz_. "I bet your wondering why im so quiet?" he asked, looking down and playing with the strap to his seat belt, she just nodded and looked down too, only looking at him throught he corner of her eye. He thought it best to continue "I just went through a bad divorce. My wife, ex-wife, was a lot like you clumsy, spunky, and she coudlnt read a watch either, all the clocks in our house had to be digital even her watches." He smiled and went on "sometimes you remind me of her, when you fell I didn't see mariah the new greenhorn, I saw her eyes, her smile, heard her voice. It still hurts me but then I realize, your _not_ her, you are this gorgeous young girl who is so excitable, and so exciting to be around, you flash that big joker smile of yours and I swear it could melt polar ice caps, hell its gets hard to keep dwelling on her when your face keeps poping up, I don't know why im telling you this and please don't take it the wrong way or hold it against me or anything I just saw that you looked hurt and I was upset at myself for allowing you to think that you did something wrong when you were just being your own clumsy self." He smiled and tousseled her hair again as if she was a good pup. "are we good?" he asked her, hopeing that he hadnt hurt her feelings or givin her the wrong impression. She smiled big again and looked at him "hell yeah were good, we have to be were about to set out to make some money we cant afford to be grouchy with eachother in such close quarters for a month" she unbuckeled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. _He said that my smile could melt polar ice caps hmmm, I wonder if I really did feel what I thought I did back there at the store_. She suddenly started thinking of her new bosses little brother differenty, her mind would stray to him over the next few days especially at night when she was on the top bunk trying to sleep and his deep snore was keeing her awake.

* * *

"I need you all in the galley for a moment if you please" keith called over the loud speaker. They all smiled and shoved eachother to get the best seats for what they knew would be coming, the blessing of the fleet would come over the radio and then keith would have a few words with them before the coast guard came over to do their inspection and drill. The men had left no room for her so she was about to sit on the floor when crosby pulled her onto his lap and laughed, she smiled knowing that he wasn't making a move on her, he was just being nice. During the blessing even she bowed her head and clasped her neighbors' hands, eager to hear what her captian had to say before the fun started. When the voice over the speakers finished his blessing keith wasted no time in starting his own speech. "I know you all thought that I made a bad choice in hireing mariah but seeing you all work together over the last two weeks I see that you will work just fine together out at sea, I don't want to hear if anyone still has issues with her being here I just want the work to get done" he growled. Everyone was silent, lookiing from one to the other of their crewmates. In the two weeks she had won over the crew one by one, all except for soper. "ok get up on deck and get ready for the coasties to come calling" he dismised them with a wave of his hand. Mariah hopped of of crosby's lap and back onto the floor quickly following her crewmates out on deck, she had done this a few times on the _Time Bandit_, john had tested his whole crew until they were under 55 seconds before the coasties came and they had to do it for real but she was still nervous none the less.

As they emerged out onto the deck the saw the coasties pulling up and tying off beside them. "hey there keith, is your crew ready?" one asked and keith nodded, sweeping his hands around to take in his crew "ok you first" the coastie said pointing to mariah, her face warmed up and threatened to turn red but she stepped forward and he tossed her a survival suit "you have 60 seconds when I say go" he said as he got his stopwatch out of his pocket "and go" she unrolled the suit and tossed it onto the floor, quickly throwing herself into it and jumping back to her feet to pull the hood over her head, for a second it caught on her hair but she was able to yank it past her ponytail and finish zipping it up, throwing the flap over her face "done" came her muffeled proclimation "59 seconds, you got lucky" she smiled and took the suite off, rolling it back up and stuffing it under her arm. Monty smiled and rubbed her back "good job" he whispered in her ear making her smile bigger and look up at him. He winked down at her then looked at the next up, crosby. The men all did well, every one of them passed crosby with the lowest time 50.2 seconds. "good job kids lets go get a drink or two, we head out tomorrow so have fun" keith said as they headed toward the dock .


End file.
